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High Park fire animals finding a new home ... for the time being

Horses, other large animals find sanctuary at The Ranch

By Shelley Widhalm Reporter-Herald Staff Writer

Posted:
06/16/2012 10:27:53 PM MDT

Skye, a 15-year-old Quarter Horse, grazes on the grass in front of the livestock barns at The Ranch while Tim Hollaman keeps a loose grip on his reins. Pride, not pictured, also is getting a taste of life on the pasture.

A gelding Quarter Horse named Skye wanted to be elsewhere as he feasted on the grass outside the livestock barns at The Ranch.

"He's all upset because he wants to visit all the horses," said Lynn Hollaman, who lives on Rist Canyon Road with her husband, Tim Hollaman.

The Hollamans made their daily visit to the barns to give Skye and a second gelding Quarter Horse called Pride a break from their unfamiliar surroundings, while Gus, also a gelding, rested in his stall.

"They want to be out in the pasture," Tim said.

When the Hollamans learned about the High Park fire, they gathered up their animals -- including the horses, three dogs, two cats and two birds -- before they packed up some paperwork, a few mementos and clothes to evacuate on Saturday. They still do not know if their house survived the 54,000-acre fire that destroyed 181 homes, the most in state history.

Lynn Hollaman regrets not taking a few things and thought of items she wished she had grabbed, but did not seem too concerned.

"To be honest with you, in the end it's all stuff. It can be replaced," she said.

What cannot be replaced are her animals.

The Hollamans' three horses are among the 250 to 280 animals housed in the two livestock barns at The Ranch. The animals include horses, alpacas, llamas, goats and sheep, as well as the addition of chickens and turkeys the past two days.

Katrina Ware has her two Quarter Horses, Vegas and Hotshot, at the barns, along with 14 others she cares for from Shiloh Guest Ranch in Rist Canyon.

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She helped her boss load up the horses on Saturday and then grabbed some clothes, her laptop and her guns before they left.

"We saw the fire come toward us (and thought) we should leave," the 22-year-old said as her blue heeler, Dixie, stayed at her feet. "We're not stupid."

Ware, who is living with her boss but is moving, had transported most of her belongings to the home of her uncle, Eric Whitin. Whitin's house was among those destroyed in the fire. But Ware has not learned yet about the house where she's staying, she said.

"They lost everything," said Ware, who lost the things she had at Whitin's house, including her childhood photographs that cannot be replaced. "Everything else is just things, just stuff."

Mary Kaempfer, with the help of her son, Anthony Pecchio, evacuated two horses and nine alpacas from Quigley Heather Alpacas. They live on the southeast side of Horsetooth and were not required to evacuate but wanted to protect the animals.

"We had sufficient time to pack up our valuables and our fire boxes," said Pecchio, who arranged the evacuation of the animals on Sunday while Kaempfer was on a camping trip.

Kaempfer, who returned on Monday, ended up not evacuating, nor did Pecchio, who lives in a basement unit in the home. They are making arrangements to return the animals, but in the meantime visit them daily.

"I'm excited to have my animals home," Kaempfer said. "It just doesn't feel right. I look out in the pasture, and they're not there."

Mark McDonald and his wife, Dinny Falkenburg, evacuated their horses, two setters and a cat from their Rist Canyon home before gathering up their personal possessions.

"We took basically things that were old ... things we couldn't replace," Falkenburg said about their artwork, old books and British gun collection. "The animals are the most important things, then the artwork and the antiques."

As for the photographs and their other belongings, "It's just stuff. Stuff is not important."

The two were waiting Saturday for the daily residence meeting at The Ranch to find out if their Rist Canyon home had burned.

"By (Friday's) map, our house is there. Much of the property is burned, but not all of it," Falkenburg said.

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